Sorry for the delay, but I have had a little travel to deal with the past week.  That and a lot of class prep and writing to get to.  So, though there is a bit of a delay, here are the 5 "best" CDs that came in last month, and there were plenty of good things so this is a reduced list!

First off, no surprise, is Goldsmith's Alien.  Probably one of his finest works and worth a re-visit after the abysmal latest installment.  Each of the films in the Alien franchise have been fairly lucky though Brian Tyler's score for the latest sequel is a lot of fun to listen to, one wishes the film could have been better.  Then again, who ever thought this odd sci-fi thriller would still be getting commentary over 30 years later!

Varese's release of North By Northwest in a re-recording by Joel McNeely, is a pretty good contemporary take on this score, though seemingly redundant to the nearly complete original soundtrack.  The suggestion that more is to come though can only mean some great stuff is on the horizon.

As with Alien, so with John Williams' score for Images, his "strangest" score we are supposed to believe, but if you listen to this score what you realize is that Williams was adapting his concert artistic language to film music here.  It is a fascinating score to listen to as a whole and its appearance on CD, taken from a promo LP is a clean transfer that fills out, and nearly completes the composer's score catalogue from the 1970s.

Towards the end of the month, Film Score Monthly released a wonderful 2-disc set of Korngold's scores.  King's Row is really one of the composer's finest efforts and listening to it here one is constantly fascinated at how Korngold maintained such clear musical arcs in his music.  There is more nuance in his conducting of this music and that for The Sea Wolf that aids in realizing his gifts on the podium.  So this is both a musical testament and one that allows us the rare opportunity to hear the composer conduct his own music.

Finally, Dario Marianelli's Atonement, while similar to his nominated score for Pride and Prejudice, moves into that very small field of good to great scores from 2007.  It's Golden Globe nomination is a nice nod to the composer and we can hope that at some point we can hear a bit more from him that allows him to experiment and develop his talent.

Tis the season, for award announcements.  The Foreign Press announced this morning their picks for film and television excellence.  Well, if we are honest, it is a list of usually good films with high star power because in the end, the broadcast of the Golden Globes is all about who you can get to come to the show.

Coming into the end of the year, with very few scores to think about as "best" even yet, I was interested to see what might make this list.  Sometimes, though not often, the Foreign Press Association has picked film scores that might have been missed by American film music lovers.  More recently that happened with the music for Girl with a Pearl Earring with a beautiful score by Alexandre Desplat that only a very few film music critics had had a chance to hear that December.  But slowly into the following year that score began to move to the top of reviewers lists. 

Given the paucity of uninspiring films, I expected some blockbuster type nominees.  As wild guesses, I thought maybe Lust, Caution (Desplat) might have a chance, maybe the last Elizabeth film (Armstrong, Rahman) given the cast and composer favorites here.  The group choosing these selections does not often pick animated offerings, so Ratatouille, which I think is one of the better scores this year, did not have a chance.

Here then are the picks announced today, in alphabetical order:

Atonement (2007), Dario Marianelli:  Of the group one of the two better scores, but this is a score that is essentially a repeate of Pride and Prejudice--still a lot of fun to listen to on its own and a likely winner since this is one of the 7 nominations (though I think these may go to the acting category only).

Eastern Promises (2007), Howard Shore:  A ubiquitous entry?  The famous composer nomination?  Or perhaps a friendly nod to a favorite of the Foreign Press.  While this is an interesting Shore score, it really does not do much for me.  It kind of combines Shore's more popular Lord of the Rings style with his standard underscoring ideas, interesting but I do not think this one will pop up again.

Grace is Gone (2007), Clint Eastwood:  A score I haven't heard, but can it really be any different from any of Eastwood's other scores?  He does have a penchant for remarkably simple musical ideas that recede into the background of his film music, and this film has been receiving positive buzz, but there are plenty of better choices to take its place here.  Sorry, Clint, can't make your day....

Into the Wild (2007), Michael Brook, Kaki King, Eddie Vedder:  Another score I have not yet heard but, the announcement spelled Vedder's name wrong, oops...  And this is a score that can't get recognition with the Academy due to its multiple composers.  Most likley to win as a result...plus it gives the show a chance to see Vedder perform.

The Kite Runner (2007), Alberto Iglesias:  Though overlooked for his scores to many of Almodovar films, and even the Oscar-nominated The Constant Gardener, Iglesias receives his first nomination by the Foreign Press.  A higher possibility of receiving an award here due to its ethnic blend of music and the fact that this actually is one of the better scores of the year.

Of this slate, I think only The Kite Runner has a chance of making it to a nomination from the Academy, maybe Atonement has a chance as well.  Personally I am still pulling for Zodiac (Shire) and Giacchino's score.